Released today, the research says 42% of households had dishwashers in in 2005 and 45% in 2008. Since then, six percent of households have splashed out, taking the national dishwasher fleet into 51% homes. Here at My Business we think that's a bit of a milestone - many families congregated around the sink. With only 49% now doing so, has a moment passed in our domestic habits?

A fading part of Australian life? Credit: nla.gov.au

One thing that has changed is our tolerance for hot weather, as the report notes "The proportion of households with a cooler in use (either a refrigerated air conditioner or an evaporative cooler) increased from 59% in 2005 to 73% in 2011."

The report also marks another shift in behaviour, noting that "Australian households with stereo systems dropped from 78% in 2005, to 59% in 2008, to 41% in 2011." Another change is the risse of laptop computers. 61% of Australian households have at least one, taking the portable PCs ahead of desktops (55% of households have one) for the first time.

At this point astute readers may be wondering if we'll ever get onto the topic of the report, namely Energy Use. The report found mains electricity is our favorite energy source and that households are keen to control use by buying more energy-efficient appliances such as front-loading washing machines (present in 13% of households in 2005 compared to 31% now).

We're also keener to insulate our homes. The report states: "Homes with insulation have also increased with over two thirds (69%) having some form of insulation, an eight percentage point increase since 2008. The states showing the largest increase were Queensland and New South Wales (15 and 10 percentage points respectively). Over one in ten households (11%) installed insulation because of a rebate offered." Could it be the government's insulation program wasn't a total mess?